Over in the Garden – Activities & Food

For today’s storybook summer post we’re still with bugs and mini beasts and sharing some fun activities and a quick and easy snack idea for kids connecting and bringing alive the book Over in the Garden [affiliate link] by Jennifer Ward our guest blogger today is the fabulous Erin from Chicken Babies so I happily hand over to her to share these fun ideas.

Hello! My name is Erin and I am excited to share here today on Rainy Day Mum.

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Two things I love are reading and singing, so when I find a book that incorporates both, I LOVE IT! “Over in the Garden” [affiliate link] by Jennifer Ward puts new words to the tune of “Over in the Garden” and takes young children through the garden to explore creepy crawlies and counting (singing optional). The pictures are bright and fun and each page has a hidden number for the kids to find. At the back of the book you will find the music for the song as well as some interesting bug facts and word definitions. It’s a great book for preschool through 2nd grade.

We have included links to the products and books used in this activity. If you buy from these links we may earn a small commission.

Move like a bug

Now for some fun bug activites! First up, move like a bug. The book is full of words describing how each bug moves. Write the bug names from the book on slips of paper and put them in a cup. Let the children take turns pulling out a paper and then move like that bug. You can come up with your own or use the movements from the book, which are: praying mantis (pouncing), ladybugs (crawl), dragonfly (zip), snail (slither), bee (buzz), spiders (jump), caterpillars (nibble), roly-poly (roll – that could get interesting!), ants (march in a line), and lastly, firefly (glow – um, not sure how they would do this one. Maybe with jazz hands?) To extend play, let the kids come up with bugs and movements that are not in the book.

Art Activity

After wiggling around, set the kids down around the table for an art activity. For this you will need watercolors, paintbrushes, cups of water for rinsing brushes, and paper like cardstock (watercolor paper will work best if you’re fancy like that, but be warned that construction paper does not work well).

This art project is mainly about symmetry. Teach the kids about symmetry in nature and point it out in the objects all around them. Tell them about the line of symmetry. It might also be helpful to teach the kids about the parts of an insect’s body (head, thorax, abdomen, wings, antenna, legs).

Give them each a piece of paper. Fold the paper in half and then open it back up. Demonstrate how to paint the outline of half of an insect’s body on the page using the crease line as the line of symmetry. Next fold the page over and press down to get the other half of your bug outline. Once the kids have done this, they can fill in the rest of their bug with whatever colors they would like. If they don’t have all the parts of an insect in their picture, I would say that’s okay. It’s more about process than product. But you can always go back and help them to get all the parts if you wish.

Snack Ideas

As their paintings are drying, and to finish off your fun bug book day, let the kids use candies, sprinkles, pretzels, frosting, or whatever to create bugs on the top of a cupcake or sugar cookie. Mmmmm, sugar.

That’s all from me. Thanks for reading and I hope to see you over at my blog Chicken Babies for more fun learning activities and games!

Erin was a schoolteacher before becoming an at-home teacher to her 4 children. She loves coming up with creative ways to teach her kids and sharing those ideas on her blog, Chicken Babies. There you will also find lots of birthday party ideas, book lists, educational tools and lessons, and thoughts about parenting.

About Cerys Parker

Cerys is a marine biologist, environmental educator, high school teacher and mum. Realising that life doesn't have to be put on hold and you don't just have to survive whilst the kids are young she shares ideas to inspire you to LIVE with the kids, with activities to do together, recipes to cook and enjoy and family travel to make memories to last a lifetime.

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